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She played with two teddy bears and a toy hedgehog as she said she knew what lies were, and the difference between fibs and the truth.

Although older and changed in her appearance, the girl retained the same sunny smile.

But it soon fell away when she was questioned. She went silent and refused to answer questions about why she initially told police the man had not touched her.

Asked if she had been fibbing, the girl appeared traumatised and at one point rubbed her eyes.

After an overnight break, she was back to her old self and told Sally O'Neill QC, prosecuting, that what she said in the taped interview was the truth.

Defence barristers argued that the child's evidence was not reliable and the allegation could have been suggested to her by another child.

Medical evidence was inconclusive but a test showed a finding which "could be supportive" of the allegation.

The rape claim was made to an adult a few months after it happened, the court heard.

The girl was seen by a police officer the following month but shook her head when asked if the man molested her.

The allegation re-emerged last year when the girl was seen by a psychiatrist. She repeated it to another doctor.

Miss O'Neill told the jury that the girl made "spontaneous" statements not influenced by leading questions.

She said: "It is unusual for a child of this age to give evidence in a criminal trial, but her age is only one feature, albeit an important one, in this case."

She said the girl demonstrated the attack on her to the psychiatrist by using a doll and a toy bear.

Neither defendant gave evidence but they denied the charges.

Baby Peter suffered months of ill-treatment, culminating in his death after a punch in the mouth knocked one of his teeth down his throat. It brought an outpouring of public emotion and criticism of care workers.

After the Baby P trial, Prime Minister Gordon Brown even got involved, pledging to do "everything in my power" to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.